More and More Skiing and Eating

 We’re going to try a different mountain today, Happo One. There is a free shuttle from our gondola base to Happo One. It is the mountain the 1998 Olympics skiing events were held at. There are, like, 20 lifts not including the learners carpets here including the gondola to mid mountain. A closer look tells s you that many of the lifts aren’t very long, maybe covering 100 meters vertical. There are lots of advanced runs off these short lifts though.


There is a lot of terrain here and enough vertical to satisfy.

Oh, did I mention the snow monkeys? Yup, monkeys in the snow, we saw one poor bugger slide down an embankment into a parking lot, face first, no control. Pratt sure his mind was whirling with the thought ‘what was I thinking’. 


So after a tough day on the slopes we head home and took dinner in the Villa, they have a limited menu if you don’t order the day before but it’s hearty and delicious. Bedtime leads to a day of rest (sort of). We walk into town with various stops. We wander through Shinden, the local village, not a lot there but we found the bakery that is open Tuesday and Saturday. Cinnamon Buns, Chocolate bread with Cranberry and Chocolate Chips (Terrible Not)! And for Jane a Gorgonzola/Walnut roll (Gross, absolutely).

We do end up at the Villa but decide dinner out. Not able to get a cab, we hitch a ride with a couple Aussie blokes. Just as they drop us at the driver says ‘just like Canada, white people being driven an Indian bloke’, we hadn’t noticed as he had a distinct Aussie accent. Got a laugh though.

The Persimmon Steak House is small, very local and fantastic. The food was great, all the staff were friendly, amiable and young. Just for comic relief, the tap one of the servers was using to fill the water pitchers kept blowing apart showering him. Lots of fun. Steak just like home, only with rice.

Now it’s tomorrow, back to the boards. Happo One again, they have more terrain than anywhere else. A good day although the visibility was changeable, sort like Fernie. Good snow but you can tell it’s been a little warmer. We ski until were are hungry. Finding ourselves unsure (lost in the wilderness) of where we are on the mountain we stop at the Bear Cafe for lunch. Upon discovering our whereabouts we are a little surprised to find we are higher than we thought and not so lost as it seemed. 

A few more runs in dim visibility and we head down. We were told there was a beer garden at the bottom. Well, we may not have found the specific place but beer and Gluwein made it a garden. Beer, wine and a hot pellet stove along with chats with a nice Aussie fellow and we are finished.

And, see you later!



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